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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27521818">The Masquerade of 2050</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/YunHo_1819/pseuds/YunHo_1819'>YunHo_1819</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Garrison Shenanigans [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blackmail, Costume Parties &amp; Masquerades, Dancing, Gen, Hijinks &amp; Shenanigans, Keith &amp; Shiro (Voltron) Friendship, Matt Holt &amp; Keith Friendship, Matt Holt &amp; Shiro Friendship, Matt Holt is a Good Sibling, Pre-Canon, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Shiro (Voltron) is a Mess</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-08 05:29:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,833</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27521818</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/YunHo_1819/pseuds/YunHo_1819</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“A dance?”</p><p>“Yep,” Shiro nodded solemnly. “More of a masquerade actually. A party. It is mandatory for all teachers and students.”</p><p>Keith frowned, “But I can’t dance. And I don’t want to.”</p><p>“It’s okay, buddy.” Matt slung an arm over Keith’s shoulder. “You can just stay with me. We can watch from the sidelines and film Shiro’s awful dancing for blackmail.”</p><p>Keith perked up. Shiro pouted, “Hey!”</p><p>Or</p><p>The reason why dances were banned at the Garrison.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Keith &amp; Shiro (Voltron), Matt Holt &amp; Keith, Matt Holt &amp; Shiro</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Garrison Shenanigans [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1955206</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Masquerade of 2050</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Inspired by alisayamin's To Know One's Family. Link at endnote, go check it out.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“A dance?”</p><p>“Yep,” Shiro nodded solemnly. “More of a masquerade actually. A party. It is mandatory for all teachers and students.”</p><p>Keith frowned, “But I can’t dance. And I don’t want to.”</p><p>“It’s okay, buddy.” Matt slung an arm over Keith’s shoulder. “You can just stay with me. We can watch from the sidelines and film Shiro’s awful dancing for blackmail.”</p><p>Keith perked up. Shiro pouted, “Hey!”</p><p>Every year,<em> every</em> <em>single year,</em> the Garrison insisted on holding a masquerade with all the faculty and cadets. Some people enjoyed it. Some hated it. Most people just didn’t care. And some people, like Matt, were only there for the food. Oh, and the blackmail material.</p><p>It was Keith’s first year at the Garrison, so he wasn’t really sure what the purpose of the whole event was. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do either, as he had never been invited to a party, let alone a <em> masquerade. </em> Do they have to dress up? That might be fun. Dance? No. Just <em> no </em>. He was actually planning to sneak out after the roll call (Seriously, who even does a role call for a party?), but the notion of hanging around with Matt didn’t sound too bad.</p><p>“Let’s go get some costumes. I bet that we can acquire some<em> real </em> explosives!” Matt grinned, dragging Keith along.</p><p>Shiro facepalmed.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>There weren't any explosives.</p><p>“We’re supposed to wear these?” Keith was staring dutifully at the mask in his hands. It was in matte gold, with sequins, and sported floppy scarlet feathers in all directions, making it look somewhat like a lion.</p><p>“Yep! Don’t worry, nobody would know that it’s you, except us,” Matt chirped, handling his own frivolous mask. It was in a brilliant rainbow. “You can buy the ones on a stick, of course, but I usually like my hands free.”</p><p>“Huh, okay.” Keith eyed the other masks in the shop warily. “Actually, this one’s quite nice.”</p><p>“No problemo. Just put it in the basket. Do you want a costume to go with it?”</p><p>“Nah, I’m good.”</p><p>The pair were browsing in a mask shop, chaperoned by Shiro. Keith didn’t even know that mask shops existed but hey, you learn something new every day. Speaking of which, <em> where was Shiro? </em> Wasn’t he supposed to be watching over them, and not the other way round?</p><p>And he had the audacity to call himself a responsible adult.</p><p>Keith looked around the shop, searching between the aisles, but his lacking height combined with the kaleidoscopic decoratives made it an excruciating task.</p><p>Just as he was about to give up his search, a girl’s shrill voice rang through the shop. “Shiro!”</p><p>Keith whipped his head around and saw Shiro at a hat stand, fiddling with some sacrilegious headwear. <em> Ah, finally. There he is. </em> And he had company. The girl who was calling Shiro’s name had run up to him and was now engaging him in conversation in a high-pitched, squealy voice. Keith had to stifle a snicker as the girl stuffed a mask, which was attached to a ridiculously long stick, into his hands. Shiro looked completely bewildered.</p><p>“Ah, yes. Another fangirl, I presume.” Matt popped up beside Keith, sniggering. “Shiro’s reactions are always priceless.” He walked up to Shiro and patted him on the back. “Congratulations! You’ve got a free mask!”</p><p>“She wants me to actually bring it to the party though.” The reply was glum. “But I already bought a mask! And this one’s stick is way too long!”</p><p>He was right. The stick the gifted mask was attached to was more like a pole, really.</p><p>“You could just leave it here?”</p><p>“I can’t do that! It’ll hurt her feelings!”</p><p>Matt and Keith sighed.</p><p>“Just bring it back. We can deal with this later.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>They didn’t.</p><p>Due to the power of procrastination, they did not deal with the fangirl’s mask at all. In fact, they completely forgot about it. It was dumped in a corner of Shiro’s apartment, the creeping eye-holes following their every move ominously.</p><p>Until the night of the dance came.</p><p>Shiro was panicking. “What am I supposed to do? I don’t want to wear it!” He really didn’t. The thing was, for lack of a better word, hideous.</p><p>“Then just <em> don’t!” </em> Keith sighed in exasperation, flinging his arms in the air dramatically. “You can’t please everyone. And it’s not like she can recognise you when you’re wearing a mask.”</p><p>“She saw me at the shop, though,” Shiro muttered, “So she definitely knows what mask I bought.”</p><p>Matt hummed, crossing his arms in thought. “I think you’re being paranoid for no reason. I mean, what are the chances of her being a creepy stalker lady who has a hero crush on you and is tracking your every move?”</p><p>Shiro stared at him. <em>Really? Like I don’t deal with that every day? </em></p><p>“Yeah, yeah.” Matt snapped his fingers and looked up. “Maybe you can just attach it to your belt or something! The stick is damn long, so it’ll be easy. And you can still wear your own mask. Ta-da! You please everyone.”</p><p>Shiro brightened. “Hey, you’re right!”</p><p>And that’s what he did.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Keith looked around the great hall, a cup of grape juice gripped in his hand. People were dancing everywhere, students and teachers alike. He never even knew that the <em> officers </em> could dance. There was no way he could look at Professor Montgomery the same way again. He grinned to himself. <em> So much blackmail. </em></p><p>However, there were too many people. Too many colours. It was really quite overwhelming after the initial excitement. Thankfully, Matt noticed his discomfort and started a running commentary on Shiro’s formless dancing. It was somewhat grounding. True to his word, Matt had brought his datapad with him and was now filming Shiro’s every move. Keith felt a little bad at invading Shiro’s privacy, but… blackmail. That came first.</p><p>“Oh, hey, look! I think that’s the girl from the store!” Matt exclaimed, nudging Keith’s shoulder.</p><p>Keith downed his drink, looking up. “Where?”</p><p>“There, see? Oh wait you can’t see, you’re too shor- Ow!” Matt winced at the jab sent his way. “Anyway, she’s looking around now. She’s probably looking for Shiro. Oh, Look! She sees the mask! She’s heading his way, and, and-”</p><p>“Do you think we should warn him?” Keith asked doubtfully.</p><p>“Nah, it’s not like she will actually do anything. Or maybe she would, let’s see.”</p><p>The girl, holding a neon pink mask, was evidently heading in Shiro’s direction now. Keith, perching himself upon a high stool, snickered with Matt at her frantic attempts of getting Shiro’s attention. Okay, he knew that they really shouldn’t be laughing at people, but the situation looked so ridiculous. Shiro either didn’t notice or was pretending he hadn’t, as he was still fully focused on dancing aggressively with his partner, Adam.</p><p>“She’s reaching for him… and… oh wow.” Matt snorted with laughter. The girl had reached out to pat him on the shoulder or something, but as Shiro slid away, all she caught hold of was the mask on his waist instead. She tugged it forcefully, yet the mask merely twisted its direction till it protruded sideways.</p><p>Shiro didn’t even break his stride. The girl huffed and gave up, moving off the dance floor.</p><p>The danger was over. The damage, however, was just beginning. Matt and Keith watched in amusement as Shiro waltzed around the dance floor with a pole sticking out from his waist to the back, like a lopsided tail. The mask swayed wildly at the terminal, flopping menacingly at the spectators. Other dancers gave it a wide berth.</p><p>“You think we should tell him about it?” Keith questioned, prodding Matt, who was still shaking in laughter.</p><p>“Ha-ha-ha, no. Not yet, at least. This is gold!”</p><p>Keith shrugged, “Okay.” He reached to get popcorn, then flopped back to enjoy the scene.</p><p>Meanwhile, on the dance floor, things were getting chaotic. Well, more chaotic than before. Shiro seemed to genuinely not notice the damage his extra mask was doing, allowing it to jab other dancers in the ribs, sending more than one couple tumbling to the floor as they lurched to avoid the incoming poke.</p><p>Shiro attempted a fancy twirl, and the pole swept in an arc, smacking all the people in range. They toppled like skittles, flailing their arms wildly.</p><p>“Ouch,” Matt winced. “Maybe we <em> should </em>go tell him to minimize collateral damage.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Shiro was in a good mood. For once, the dancing was going smoothly. Sure, he knew that Matt and Keith were filming, but this time he would get the last laugh. His dancing wasn’t all that bad if he would say so himself. After all, he didn’t step on anyone’s feet! And to make things better, the girl from the store was nowhere in sight. He did spy someone with a pink mask hovering around him, but no move was made and the person was gone now. </p><p>He sighed. It wasn’t that the girl was unpleasant or anything; Shiro was actually honoured that people looked up to him so much. It was just really uncomfortable to be subjected to that kind of admiration. But maybe this time he would get lucky and go by undisturbed.</p><p>He should have known that his luck wouldn’t last.</p><p>“Shiro!”</p><p>Shiro jolted to a standstill, face paling. <em> Oh no. </em> The girl must be here. Hoping to escape, he backed quickly towards the buffet table. Thankfully, people gave way.</p><p>Glancing around cautiously, he searched for the girl. <em> Where was she, anyway? </em></p><p>Huh. Maybe he was mistaken. Heaving a sigh of relief, he turned back to the dance floor.</p><p>
  <em> CRASH! </em>
</p><p>Shiro jolted. <em> What was that? </em></p><p>He whipped his head around to the banquet table, and his mouth fell open with shock.</p><p>Half of the table’s contents were splattered on the floor.</p><p>
  <em> Who did this? </em>
</p><p>A few cadets were on the floor as well, possibly injured from the scalding hot soup. Heart seizing, he hurried over to help them up, only to be tugged back by the waist.</p><p>
  <em> Huh? </em>
</p><p>He finally looked down.</p><p>And saw his extra mask snagged to the tablecloth.</p><p>His eyes widened with realisation.</p><p>
  <em> Oh, no. </em>
</p><p>In a panic, he snatched up the fallen mask and yeeted it across the hall.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The harsh crashing of plates and bowls echoed thunderously. Matt and Keith jumped, wincing in second-hand embarrassment as they registered what happened.</p><p>“Yikes.” Keith looked slightly guilty.</p><p>“Come on,” Matt sighed, “Let’s go get him out of trouble.”</p><p>They took off and cut through the dance floor, grabbing Shiro by an arm each and ushered him out of the hall. As soon as they were safely out of sight, Shiro fled to his apartment.</p><p>Matt and Keith eyed each other.</p><p>“Did you catch it on tape?” Keith inquired. Matt gave a thumbs up.</p><p>They burst into howling laughter.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Shiro did not speak to them for a week.</p><p> </p><p>There weren’t any more masquerades after that. Keith wasn’t sure if he should be grateful or disappointed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy Deepavali!<br/>The greatest thing about living in a country that celebrates three new years is the extra holidays. Which sadly don't make much of a difference recently, due to corona.</p><p>So how was the story? This idea suddenly came to mind, and I burst out laughing. I probably look crazy.<br/>Hope you enjoyed it!</p><p>Inspired by: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12392841/chapters/28197342<br/>Idk how to hyperlink in AO3. Tell me if you know.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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